Borough wide 20mph speed limit and zero carbon housing among policy options

September 23, 2020

All speed limits could be set at 20mph by 2021, and council housing could be built at zero carbon standards by 2022 according to Ealing Council’s plans to tackle the climate emergency.

Residents are being encouraged to have their say on the authority’s draft Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy which is being shaped to try and make the borough carbon neutral by 2030.

Focuses in the plan are energy, food, green infrastructure, transport and waste.

Other measures in the early proposals include hiking the recycling rate at local authority-run schools to 70 per cent by 2030, and to have 50 per cent of vehicles on the roads go electric or hybrid by 2026.

Feedback from residents will be used to steer the strategy before it goes to Ealing bosses at a cabinet meeting for approval in December.

A questionnaire on the plans will be open until 27 September.

Councillor Mik Sabiers, Ealing’s environment boss, said, “Our ambitious climate strategy aims to address the climate emergency – but many of the adjustments we need to make to combat climate change can result in hugely positive changes in other areas of our lives, and these are known as co-benefits.

“It is vital that residents’ views and ideas help shape our responses and strategies in the long-term, which is why I encourage everyone to have a read of our draft strategy and contribute towards the consultation.

“In 2018 the UN reported that we had 12 years left to act on climate change to avoid a global disaster, and last year, we declared a climate emergency.

“Acting now on climate change will dramatically improve the council’s environmental performance and help to protect residents from the impacts of climate change in the future.”

To view the plan and complete the questionnaire click here.

For more information email climateaction@ealing.gov.uk.


Anahita Hossein-Pour - Local Democracy Reporter